Chapter 45
Economy - overview: Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains in 1995-96, pushing GDP growth and slashing inflation. Georgia had been suffering from acute energy shortages, although energy deliveries improved in 1996. Georgia is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery on the development of an international transportation corridor through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi. The decision in 1996 to construct an early Caspian oil pipeline through Georgia underscores the viability of such a corridor and may spur greater western investment in the economy. A growing trade deficit and political uncertainties cloud the short-term economic picture.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $7.1 billion (1996 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP - real growth rate: 11% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,350 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture : 70.4% industry: 10.2% services: 19.4% (1993 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 13.3% (1996 est.)
Labor force: total: 2.2 million (1996) by occupation: industry and construction 31%, agriculture and forestry 25%, other 44% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 21% (1996 est.)
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: steel, aircraft, machine tools, foundry equipment, electric locomotives, tower cranes, electric welding equipment, machinery for food preparation and meat packing, electric motors, process control equipment, trucks, tractors, textiles, shoes, chemicals, wood products, wine
Industrial production growth rate: 7.7% (1996 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 4.56 million kW (1994)
Electricity - production: 7.1 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 1,095 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: citrus, grapes, tea, vegetables, potatoes; small livestock sector
Exports: total value: $356 million (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural products; diverse types of machinery; ferrous and nonferrous metals; textiles; chemicals; fuel re-exports partners : Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria (1996)
Imports: total value: $647 million (c.i.f., 1995) commodities: fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and parts, transport equipment partners: Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan (1996); note - EU and US send humanitarian food shipments
Debt - external: $1.6 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $28 million (1993) note : commitments, 1992-95, $1,200 million ($675 million disbursements)
Currency: lari introduced September 1995 replacing the coupon
Exchange rates: lari per US$1 (end of period) - 1.28 (December 1996), 1.24 (December 1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Georgia:Communications
Telephones: 672,000 (1993 est.)
Telephone system: poor service; 339,000 unsatisfied applications for telephones (December 1990 est.) domestic: NA international: landline to CIS members and Turkey; satellite earth station - 1 Eutelsat; leased connections with other countries via the Moscow international gateway switch; international electronic mail and telex service available
Radio broadcast stations: 2 national broadcast stations, 3 regional broadcast stations
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 3
Televisions: NA
@Georgia:Transportation
Railways: total: 1,583 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 1,583 km 1.520-m gauge (1993)
Highways: total: 21,000 km paved: NA km unpaved : NA km note: Georgia reports 19,635 km of "hard surfaced" roads which combine the lengths of paved and graveled roads; 1,365 km of unsurfaced or dirt roads are reported separately (1995 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 370 km; refined products 300 km; natural gas 440 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi
Merchant marine: total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 183,202 GRT/292,021 DWT ships by type : bulk 4, cargo 3, oil tanker 8 (1996 est.)
Airports: 28 (1994 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 14 over 3,047 m : 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m : 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1994 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 14 over 3,047 m : 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 6 (1994 est.)
Transportation - note: transportation network is in poor condition and disrupted by ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages; network lacks maintenance and repair
Military
Military branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,288,694 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males : 1,020,609 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 40,799 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: 38.2 trillion coupons (1995); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates to Western Europe ______________________________________________________________________
GERMANY
@Germany:Geography
Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates: 51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 356,910 sq km land : 349,520 sq km water: 7,390 sq km note: includes the formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and Berlin, following formal unification on 3 October 1990
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries: total: 3,621 km border countries : Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Coastline: 2,389 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone : 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity
Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Elevation extremes: lowest point : Freepsum Lake -2 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,962 m
Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel
Land use: arable land : 33% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 31% other : 20% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 4,750 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries and lead emissions from vehicle exhausts (the result of continued use of leaded fuels) contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; heavy pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified : Air Pollution-Sulphur 94
Geography - note: strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
@Germany:People
Population: 82,071,765 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16% (male 6,652,245; female 6,315,479) 15-64 years: 68% (male 28,649,361; female 27,498,980) 65 years and over: 16% (male 4,772,547; female 8,183,153) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 0% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 8.98 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 10.82 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth : 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.81 years male: 73.64 years female: 80.16 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.24 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality: noun : German(s) adjective: German
Ethnic groups: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, Italians 0.7%, Greeks 0.4%, Poles 0.4%, other 4.6% (made up largely of people fleeing the war in the former Yugoslavia)
Religions: Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3%
Languages: German
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1977 est.) male: NA% female : NA%
@Germany:Government
Country name: conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form : Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland
Data code: GM
Government type: federal republic
National capital: Berlin note: the shift from Bonn to Berlin will take place over a period of years, with Bonn retaining many administrative functions and several ministries even after parliament moves in 1999
Administrative divisions: 16 states (laender, singular - land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen
Independence: 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four power rights formally relinquished 15 March 1991
National holiday: German Unity Day (Day of Unity), 3 October (1990)
Constitution: 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990
Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state : President Roman HERZOG (since 1 July 1994) head of government: Chancellor Dr. Helmut KOHL (since 4 October 1982) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president upon the proposal of the chancellor elections: president elected by the Federal Convention including members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of members elected by the Land Parliaments for a five-year term; election last held 23 May 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 16 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1998) election results: Roman HERZOG elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote - NA; Dr. Helmut KOHL reelected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly - NA
Legislative branch: bicameral chamber (no official name for the two chambers as a whole) consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (656 seats usually, but 672 for the 1994 term; elected by direct popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (68 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block) elections: Federal Assembly - last held 16 October 1994 (next to be held by NA 1998); Federal Council - last held NA ( next to be held NA) election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - CDU 34.2%, SPD 36.4%, Alliance 90/Greens 7.3%, CSU 7.3%, FDP 6.9%, PDS 4.4%, Republicans 1.9%; seats by party - CDU 244, SPD 252, Alliance 90/Greens 49, CSU 50, FDP 47, PDS 30; Federal Council - current composition - votes by party - SPD-led states 41, CDU-led states 27
Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht, half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Helmut KOHL, chairman]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Theo WAIGEL, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Oskar LAFONTAINE, chairman]; Alliance '90/Greens [Gunda ROESTEL, Juergen TRITTIN, cochairpersons]; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Lothar BISKY, chairman]; Republikaner [Rolf SCHLIERER, chairman]; National Democratic Party or NPD [Ellen-Doris SCHERER]; Communist Party or DKP [Rolf PRIEMER and Heinz STEHR, cochairpersons]
Political pressure groups and leaders: employers' organizations, expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG chancery : 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle consulate(s): Wellington (American Samoa)
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James D. BINDENAGEL embassy : Deichmanns Aue 29, 53170 Bonn mailing address: APO AE 09080, PSC 117, Bonn telephone: [49] (228) 3391 FAX: [49] (228) 339-2663 branch office : Berlin consulate(s) general: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold
Economy
Economy - overview: Germany, the world's third-most powerful economy, is gearing up for the European Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. One key economic priority is meeting the Maastricht criteria for entry into EMU, a goal complicated by record unemployment and stagnating growth. The government has implemented an austerity budget in its attempt to get the deficit down to 3% of GDP as required by Maastricht, but further cuts probably will be necessary and there is little consensus among the parties or elites about next steps toward that end. In recent years business and political leaders have become increasingly concerned about Germany's apparent decline in attractiveness as a business location. They cite the increasing preference of German companies to locate new manufacturing facilities - long the strength of the postwar economy - in foreign countries, including the US, rather than in Germany, so they can be closer to their markets and avoid Germany's high taxes and labor costs. At the same time, Germany faces its own unique problem of bringing its eastern area up to scratch after 45 years of communist rule. Despite substantial progress toward economic integration, the eastern states will continue to rely on the annual subsidy of approximately $100 billion from the western part into the next century. Assistance from the west helped the east to average nearly 8% annual economic growth in 1992-95, even though the overall German economy had averaged less than 2% growth; growth in the east, however, tumbled to 2% in 1996, with unemployment a particularly severe problem.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.7 trillion (western: purchasing power parity - $1.56 trillion; eastern: purchasing power parity - $142 billion) (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.4% (western 1.3%, eastern 2.0%) (1996)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $20,400 (western: purchasing power parity - $23,100; eastern: purchasing power parity - $9,000) (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1.1% industry: 34.5% services: 64.4% (1995)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 1.5% (1996)
Labor force: total: 38.7 million by occupation: industry 41%, agriculture 3%, services 56% (1995)
Unemployment rate: 10.8% (western 9.6%, eastern 15.9%) (December 1996)
Budget: revenues: $755 billion expenditures: $832.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995)
Industries: western: among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; eastern: metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding, machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum refining
Industrial production growth rate: 1.3% (1996 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 109.73 million kW (1994)
Electricity - production: 529.1 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 5,727 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: western: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage; cattle, pigs, poultry; eastern: wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit; pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides
Exports: total value: $501.3 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: manufactures 88.2% (including machines and machine tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 5.0%, raw materials 2.3%, fuels 1.0%, other 3.5% (1995) partners: EU 57.7% (France 11.7%, UK 8.1%, Italy 7.6%, Netherlands 7.5%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.5%, Austria 5.5%), Eastern Europe 8.0%, other West European countries 7.5%, US 7.3%, NICs 5.6%, Japan 2.5%, OPEC 2.2%, China 1.4% (1996 est. for first 10 months)
Imports: total value: $430.7 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: manufactures 74.2%, agricultural products 9.9%, fuels 6.4%, raw materials 5.9%, other 3.6% (1995) partners : EU 55.5% (France 10.8%, Netherlands 8.6%, Italy 8.4%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.6%, UK 6.4%, Austria 3.9%), Eastern Europe 8.7%, other West European countries 7.2%, US 6.8%, Japan 5.3%, NICs 5.3%, China 2.4%, OPEC 1.7%, other 7.1% (1995)
Debt - external: $NA
Economic aid: donor: ODA, $9 billion (1996 est.)
Currency: 1 deutsche mark (DM) = 100 pfennige
Exchange rates: deutsche marks (DM) per US$1 - 1.6043 (January 1997), 1.5048 (1996), 1.4331 (1995), 1.6228 (1994), 1.6533 (1993), 1.5617 (1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Germany:Communications
Telephones: 44 million
Telephone system: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country is being rapidly modernized and integrated with that of the western part domestic: the region which was formerly West Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available and includes roaming service to many foreign countries; since the reunification of Germany, the telephone system of the eastern region has been upgraded and enjoys many of the advantages of the national system international: satellite earth stations - 14 Intelsat (12 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian Ocean region); 6 submarine cable connections; 2 HF radiotelephone communication centers; tropospheric scatter links
Radio broadcast stations: western - AM 80, FM 470, shortwave 0; eastern - AM 23, FM 17, shortwave 0
Radios: 70 million (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 246 (repeaters 6,000); note - there are 15 Russian repeaters in eastern Germany
Televisions: 44.8 million (1992 est.)
@Germany:Transportation
Railways: total: 43,966 km standard gauge : 43,531 km 1.435-m; 40,355 km are owned by Deutsche Bahn AG (DB); 17,015 km of the DB system are electrified and 16,941 km are double- or more-tracked narrow gauge: 389 km 1.000-m gauge (DB operates 146 km of 1.000-m gauge); 7 km 0.900-m gauge; 39 km 0.750-m gauge note : in addition to the DB system there are 54 privately-owned industrial or excursion railways, ranging in route length from 2 km to 632 km, with a total length of 3,465 km (1995)
Highways: total: 639,800 km paved: 504,800 km (including 11,013 km of expressways) unpaved : 135,000 km all-weather, graveled (1993 est.)
Waterways: western - 5,222 km, of which almost 70% are usable by craft of 1,000-metric-ton capacity or larger; major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea; eastern - 2,319 km (1988)
Pipelines: crude oil 3,644 km; petroleum products 3,946 km; natural gas 97,564 km (1988)
Ports and harbors: Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Lubeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart
Merchant marine: total : 450 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,402,437 GRT/6,649,382 DWT ships by type: cargo 184, chemical tanker 15, combination bulk 3, combination ore/oil 1, container 195, liquefied gas tanker 8, multifunction large-load carrier 6, oil tanker 12, passenger 4, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 4, roll-on/roll-off cargo 8, short-sea passenger 8 (1996 est.) note : includes ships from the former East Germany and West Germany
Airports: 613 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total : 544 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 63 1,524 to 2,437 m: 69 914 to 1,523 m: 51 under 914 m: 348 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total : 69 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m : 55 (1996 est.)
Heliports: 65 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Border Police, Coast Guard
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 20,918,653 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males: 17,939,494 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 450,147 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $42.8 billion (1995)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.5% (1995)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin and hashish, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs ______________________________________________________________________